Two men found transporting 7-foot gator in truck in PSL

Amateur video: Two friends capture a gator on Green River Parkway in Port St. Lucie.

A 7-foot alligator was found Sunday in a Toyota pickup truck's bed by Port St. Lucie police acting on a tip.

Photos provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

PORT ST. LUCIE - Police found a 7-foot alligator Sunday in a Toyota pickup truck's bed after authorities were notified that two people were trying to catch a gator in the road east of U.S. 1, according to a report released Monday.

An officer was dispatched to Southeast Green River Parkway and Southeast Berkshire Boulevard about 5:50 p.m. after someone reported two people were trying to capture the creature in the middle of the road and load it into the back of a pickup truck.

Police stopped the 1994 Toyota at Southeast Lennard and Blossom roads, and spied a roughly 7-foot alligator in the vehicle's bed. The gator had rope and tape around its head and mouth.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer took the alligator and released it in the area of Southeast Green River Parkway and Southeast Walton Road in Savannas Preserve State Park.

The pickup driver, a 17-year-old boy, said he had a license, but with a "business only restriction." He said he was leaving his aunt's house rather than working. The passenger, 20-year-old Grayson Kyte, smelled of alcohol, according to the report. Kyte, who is on probation, admitted drinking. His probation conditions stipulate no alcohol or drugs.

"They told the officer that they were going to relocate it and put it in the park," FWC spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro said.

The conservation officer issued both a misdemeanor possession of alligator citation, she said. Alligators are protected in Florida and are listed as a "species of special concern," Ferraro said.

Kyte could not be reached Monday and the 17-year-old boy's name was excised from the police report.

Ferraro said alligators can be captured legally only by those with the necessary licenses and permits, which these two people didn't have.